NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State baseball walked off Belmont, 4-3, from Duffy Bass Field on Friday to set up a deciding game three Saturday at 1 p.m.
Illinois State (27-25 overall, 15-11 MVC) saw junior Noah Rabin lead the offense, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Belmont drops to 25-29 overall and 12-14 in MVC play this year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State opened the scoring in the bottom of the 4th with a sacrifice fly from junior Noah Rabin before redshirt junior Judah Morris tallied an RBI double for the 2-0 lead.
The Redbirds added another run in the 5th inning with a sacrifice fly by senior Auggie Rasmussen to make it 3-0 ILS.
Belmont scored three unanswered runs with two in the top of the 6th and one in the 8th to make it 3-3 late in the game.
After going back-and-forth with two and a half scoreless innings, Rabin led off the bottom of the 11th and sent one over the right field wall for the walk-off home run and the 4-3 victory for ILS.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Morris' double in the 4th was his 18th double of 2024, second most in the Steve Holm era (19 by Ryan Cermak in 2022).
- Rabin's walk-off home run is the second walk-off home run for ILS this season (Daniel Pacella v. Indiana State)
- ILS is now 1-3 in extra-inning games this season
UP NEXT
Illinois State and Belmont conclude the series with first pitch at 1:00 p.m. CT Saturday at Duffy Bass Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Saturday will also be ILS' Senior Day as the Redbirds honor nine student-athletes in a postgame ceremony.
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